Radiant von Ganse
Radiant von Ganse [she/her] is the daughter of the Goose Girl, a tale by the Grimm Brothers. An only child, she's destined to take on the role. While a part of her enjoys the fact that her fairytale will be a great adventure, she seriously dislikes the fact her story is about pitting girls against each other ("totally not cool, am I right?"). Clever and acerbic – even if a tad bit of a cynic – Radiant is determined to use what wits she has to take control of her own tale and her life. Character Personality Much like her name, Radiant is, well, radiant. She carries herself with a bouncy energy, and there never seems to be anything that dulls her sparkle. Many would report that they’ve never seen Radiant tired or stressed - the worst they’ve ever seen has been Radiant downing a couple of energy drinks and a few shots of caffeine with a cheerful countenance. There’s often a mischievous glint in her eyes. She’s playful - endearing so, and full of wit. Radiant is always down to banter, always down to exchange light insults and mockery. Everything, no matter how much she adores or loves it, she can make fun of, then build up with compliments simultaneously. It’s a fun little game Radiant likes to play - using words and wisdom to amuse herself and others. In fact, it’s almost charming and admiration, how sharp and quick such wit of hers can be. However, there’s definitely a degree of cynicism present in Radiant. She refuses to look at things in black and white, and always takes a grey, middle ground. And despite herself, Radiant finds it incredibly easily to feel downtrodden and unsure about the state of the world. It’s the type of unsure that sends her into existential crises, makes her want to monologue dramatically into the void, and leaves her awake at night with a taunting hole in her chest. That’s why she’s so often poking fun and jesting, that’s why she’s energetic and bouncy. Because she knows that laughter and friendship won’t patch up the problems of the world - it probably can’t even patch up the problems in her own life - but at the very least, it’ll make existence more pleasant. On the surface, the quips that so often fall from Radiant’s mouth seem like mere jokes, but often, they’re satirical and biting. It’s through these quips that the insecurities and worries she has about the world are made. She finds satire and irony to be a fine way of expressing her thoughts (and when her remarks fly over people’s heads, she can’t help but get a bit frowny). Of course, she can come off as bitter (ironically so, some would think). She tries not to let that faze her. Better to be bitter than complacent, she thinks. Better to be aware than ignorant. And better to be critical - better to insist improvement - than not. And hence, Radiant is firm on her beliefs. She’s''' stubborn', and '''will rarely back down' from an argument. This is fueled by her competitive nature - she’s always down for a battle, whether it be on a sports court or turf, whether it be through wit and words. To live, she believes, is an act of rebellion in itself, and striving to succeed against odds therefore must be the best way to live. Life is tough, they say, but you are tougher. If anything, Radiant encapsulates that motto. With wit and ambition, and a strong sense of determination, she readies herself to take on the world. Appearance Radiant is dark-skinned, with warm brown eyes and a mass of golden blonde hair. On the corner of her lip rests a singular beauty mark. Body-wise, she is relatively toned – due to her frequent equestrian and polo extracurriculars. Despite her acerbic nature, she is rarely seen without a smile of some sort. Usually it’s a smirk, sometimes it’s a full grin. She carries herself with a regal grace, and gives the impression of somebody seemingly in control of her vicinity. Interests and Hobbies Humour, Wit and Banter Radiant is, beyond anything, fun in conversation. Without fail, Radiant will throw in quips and witty remarks, and make light of even the most serious of topics. And yes, I have touched upon this in her personality section, but it's such an integral habit and hobby of hers that it deserves her own section. She can be often seen on social media, posting a pun or a joke in tons of comment sections, and at any party, surrounded by a host of people who are dying to here her talk. Her rants are lit, her bants are fire, and one can't even. *Recently, Radiant has joined the Stand-Up Comedy Club at Ever After High, and is having the time of her life. *She is also a huge advocate for practical jokes. *For like, a hot 5 seconds, she was in the Debate Society. She never took the organisation seriously enough, so the Debate Society booted her. Equestrian, Polo and Derbies Most people would associate Radiant with horses. They're not wrong. When you're destined to be the next Goose Girl, you grow up around horses, your House Crest is a horse, your mother won't stop talking about how awesome your next birthday surprise is... and whoops it turns out to be another horse. A life circulating horses is something that's clearly ingrained into Radiant from a young age, and unlike other elements of royalty, it's something she's yet to reject. On the contrary, she seems quite happy to embrace this part of her family culture and tradition. However, Radiant's relationship with horses is not exactly the friendship between the Goose Girl and Falada. To Radiant, horses are commercialised beings, built and breed for the purpose aiding humans. Such, she sees them more for the purpose of sport -- Equestrian and Polo in particular. She owns several horses, most of which are back home at the palace. To Ever After, she has brought her talking chestnut gelding destined to be her next Falada. Magic Touch: The Wind Charm With a phrase "blow, winds, blow", Radiant can command the winds in her vicinity. Mostly, she uses this power to make herself look cool while she's on horseback. Other *Radiant is on the fencing team at Ever After High. She developed her skills in the sport through her mother's suitors, who would teach her a lot of cool abilities. **She enjoys jokingly challenging other princes to fight her. *Has an appreciation for the theatre and other theatrical performances, thanks to Batty, and makes an effort to support The Drama Kings and Queens at all opportunities. *Can talk to birds. Apparently they're good for "mad bants". Fairy tale – The Goose Girl How the Story Goes Wikipedia link How does Radiant come into it? The Goose Girl, or rather, the Princess marries the Prince, and they all live Happily Ever After. To live Happily Ever After, you don't need to be Happily In Love. The two never were - the marriage was political, it was destiny bound. Read the story, you'll see that romance never plays a part in motivation. Still, let's get to the point. The two don't love each other, at least not romantically, but they're friends, and they respect the other a great deal. Sure, this isn't the grand fairytale marriage they promised, but it still worked out in their favour. Together, they had Radiant. Alongside the other laws they signed and implemented for the kingdom, she's still their greatest achievement. Being the Goose Girl and a beautiful princess in her own right, Radiant's mother still has suitors. The men are aware that Radiant's father is old and chronically ill and won't be around for long because of destiny-come, so being a suitor is an investment. These suitors, to impress her, have another litmus test to cross, which is the approval of Radiant. Because of this, from childhood, some of Radiant's closest friends were these young princes, who taught her things like fencing and being funny and whatever other skills they had. Opinion on Destiny For starters, Radiant's not exactly fond of the idea that her mother's going to be a widow at the start of the story. She's quite fond of her old man, thank you very much - but he is older and weaker than her mother, so Radiant isn't exactly surprised by that initial story condition. (She's still struggling to accept it, though). Regarding the whole betrayal/forced to play a waiting maid thing/forced to work: it's not losing her royal privilege that she really minds. It's not the menial, manual labour. Rather, it's being stripped of her autonomy by one whom she was close to and confided in. While she knows retribution will be had, it doesn't stop Radiant from feeling that she can't even be safe in her own body. And besides, she trusts Bathilda too much to even consider that possibility. While the thought does make her uncomfortable, Radiant, at times, also finds it laughable ("ptff, as if!"). Combined with other elements of her tale (Conrad's hat, the almost comedical evil of the waiting maid), sometimes, Radiant really struggles to take her tale seriously. It comes off as undermining her story, sometimes, which also sometimes attracts the ire of other students (especially those who want a happy ending - oh, hi there, Duchess). The one part of her story that truly does disturb Radiant the most is the waiting-maid's death. Radiant mostly just tries not to think about it (but will make the odd morbid joke about "nailing it" or "barreling in" - out of Bathilda's earshot, of course). Whenever it's brought up, she just waves it off. The princess is insistent on not demonstrating any sort of weakness, and disguises it up with jokes. All in all, Radiant is kinda just winging her way through destiny. She aligns with Rebel, mostly based of gut feeling - Bathilda's death probably has a lot to do with it, as well as the fact that she's never really felt her story was a good '"fit" for her. But in general, she tries not to get involved in any destiny conflict, but has too many opinions to be Neutral, and not enough Royal sentiments to be Roybel. Parallels between Radiant & the Goose Girl *Horses - the Goose Girl's pet horse, Falada, is something dear to her and pivotal to the tale. Therefore, the house of the Goose Girl is associated with horses. **The horse's name from the fairytale, Falada, is in reference to Veillantif, the horse of Roland in A Song of Roland. For that reason, I chose to name Radiant's horse in a manner that follows this theme. *Radiant has inherited hair stranded with real gold, and the ability to move the wind with a small wind prayer charm. Both of these are traits of the Goose Girl. *One of the values Radiant holds most dear is truth. This is a parallel to how the Goose Girl is meant to lie. Radiant knows this, and wants to have as much integrity to herself as possible. Trivia *'Radiant' means shining - it's in reference to the princess' golden hair. **'von Ganse' is a pseudo-German surname (it's pseudo because I made it up). Ganse means geese, she is the Goose Girl. *Radiant was originally a remake of an older OC (Radiant Couronne / Radiant Charming), but has been so far removed from said older OC that said remake can no longer be truly called a remake. *She uses this emoticon a lot :^) **I have no reason or justification behind it, :^) just gives me a vibe that is very Radiant. Quotes *stuff they say Category:Characters Category:Females Category:The Goose Girl Category:Zena's OCs Category:Transgender Category:German